Senior swimmer Anna Friedrich just completed a decorated four-year career with the Hawai'i women's swimming and diving program. The Hanover, Germany, native ended her time as a Rainbow Wahine as a two-time MPSF Champion in the 200 backstroke while ranking in the top 10 all-time at UH in five different events.

Friedrich and three of her Rainbow Wahine teammates are coming off of competing at the NCAA Championships, where they capped off a historic freestyle relay season in which they set school records in both the 200 and 400 free relay. 

What sparked your passion for swimming?
I started swimming really early when my dad would take me to baby swimming. I was very little and was only getting to know the water. Even though I played other sports when I was young, I always wanted to swim. I've just been doing it my whole life.
 

When did you know you wanted to swim at a collegiate level?
A few of my teammates from Germany did. So I felt it was a good way for me to keep swimming and keep my studies. It's kind of hard to do that in Germany. There aren't many college teams so if you want to swim, then you have to do so through a club. The professors at home wouldn't even understand if you had to leave for a meet and competition just isn't as accessible where I'm from compared to here in the U.S.

Why did you ultimately choose to swim for the University of Hawai'i?
I didn't apply anywhere else but I reached out to a bunch of coaches from the U.S. to see where I could possibly get a scholarship or where I could fit in. I found that UH was the best option for me so that was the only place I applied to. I've always wanted to go to Hawai'i, and the coaches and the team culture also seemed really good and UHM had a psychology program which is what I wanted to major in.
 

You've come a long way to be here, traveling from Germany. Tell me about where you're from.
I'm from a town called Hanover in Germany. It's a semi-big town with about 500,000 people so I'm kind of a city girl. Honolulu is pretty unique in most aspects like the way there are many tourists in the city. Back home, there aren't many skyscrapers. It's more spread out there and it still has small town vibes.

Who's been very supportive of your journey as a student athlete? How have they supported you?
My parents were very excited for me to go here. They would support anything I do, but they obviously support my swimming since they were excited that I got to see another country and live in paradise. Sometimes they think I'm away for four years of vacation but I'm not. Whenever I need to talk to them about something, I can always call them. They came this winter on vacation, watched my practices and came to my conference in Utah. 

I am also close with my roommate, Jordyn Ryan. She's just a very good friend. We go through the same stuff together so it's nice to chat about things when it's tough and we emotionally trauma-dump once in a while.

What would you say is the biggest challenge you've faced on the swim team so far?
The COVID season was pretty challenging because we couldn't swim for a while and it was so much harder to get the team together. It was practically impossible because we weren't allowed to gather. It was a whole year we weren't able to bond or train as much so it was tough to stay positive.

What does success in the pool look like to you?
Since I've been doing this for so long, it's definitely changed over time. When I was very young, it was mostly about having fun in the water. I always liked competing but I was never competitive, I wasn't upset about losing. When I took it seriously, I was focused on getting the best times. Then in college, I tried to focus more on enjoying myself and not being so focused on winning or having the best times. It takes away from the fun when you're too competitive with yourself.

If you could have a free day to yourself without any athletic or academic responsibilities, how would you spend that day?
I love to go to the beach so I would do that, spend time with my boyfriend, and maybe have dinner with some friends. I also really like to go thrifting so I'll probably do that too. I picked up thrifting when I moved here to the U.S. because the thrift stores are better than the ones back home.

Tell me about the most memorable swim meet you've competed in.
The meet at Georgia where we qualified for the NCAA was memorable because it was exciting and unexpected. We were hoping to qualify but we weren't expecting it.

What is your favorite or least favorite race?
My favorite race is the 200 backstroke because it's been my best event over the years. When I do it, I feel like I know what I'm doing. I've done it so many times and I feel very comfortable so I just know there aren't any surprises. It feels familiar and I just know what I'm doing.

The hardest race for me would be the 500 free because it's very long. If you're doing well then it feels good, but if you're not doing well then it's so bad because you have a long way to go. It's really a mental race since you're already pushing yourself to your limit. It's tough to push yourself even more than that when you see other people getting ahead you.

As a senior, your time with the Bows is almost done. What are your plans after UHM?
I am most likely going back home to Germany and will probably go to grad school for clinical psychology. Maybe I'll keep swimming. I'm not saying I'm not good but I feel like you'd need to be swimming at a world-class level to swim professionally. Maybe I could get there.